Review of LIC role in pension schemes on cards

New Delhi: The labour and employment ministry plans to re-evaluate the role of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India and is tightening the operational framework for around 500 common service centres (CSCs) for tardy enrolments under its voluntary pension schemes for unorganised workers and traders.

"The ministry will undertake a detailed review of the role of LIC in managing the two schemes as implementation is the priority for the government," a government official told ET on condition of anonymity.

Queries emailed to LIC did not elicit any response till press time.


The Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) scheme and the National Pension Scheme (NPS) for Traders and Self-Employed, both launched in 2019, are administered by the labour and employment ministry and implemented through LIC and Common Service Centre eGovernance Services India Limited.

People familiar with the deliberations said the premium size under the two schemes (₹55-200 per month) is so miniscule that LIC is not incentivised enough to carry out enrolments, which are largely commission based.

While the labour and employment ministry is re-assessing the role of LIC, one of the persons said the pace of enrolments is slow also because CSCs are not making enough efforts to enrol despite getting a commission of ₹30 per enrolment.

In a review meeting with the CSCs, the ministry has suggested fixing a minimum enrolment target which will be monitored on a regular basis, the official said.

Looking to widen the penetration of the two pension schemes, the ministry is also pushing states to enhance enrolments. Besides, it has reached out to several central ministries, including rural development, panchayati raj, agriculture and farmers' welfare, and women and child development, asking them to use their ground level workers to enrol unorganised workers under the pension scheme.

The labour and employment ministry has so far seen just 52,671 enrolments under the NPS for Traders and Self-Employed since 2019 while 4.9 million workers have registered under PM-SYM scheme out of an estimated 400 million unorganised workers in the country.

The government has spent ₹1,323.29 crore on premium contribution under PM-SYM since 2019, with ₹49.49 crore pent in 2018-19, ₹359.95 crore in 2019-20, ₹319.71 crore in 2020-21, ₹324.23 crore in 2021-22 and ₹269.91 crore spent in 2022-23.

PM-SYM and NPS for Traders and Self-Employed are voluntary contributory pension schemes, catering to unorganised sector workers and traders, in the 18-40 age group and earning less than ₹15,000 per month.

Under the schemes, a worker or a self-employed person pays a monthly contribution of ₹55-200 and a matching contribution is offered by the government. This entitles them to a monthly pension of ₹3,000 after attaining the age of 60 years.